Construction Job Growth Expected to Surge
Projections by Industry Through Year 2024

The construction industry is forecast to add nearly 800,000 new jobs to its workforce by the year 2024. Based solely on a percentage basis, that would put construction in second place overall, with health care in the top spot.

A significant number of jobs should be added to the construction industry from 2014-2024, according to a forecast from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Construction is expected to grow by 790,400 jobs in that time frame. In terms of numbers, this would put construction in fourth place, compared to all other major industries. Health care would lead with a predicted 3.8 million new jobs.

But in terms of percentages, construction would move up to second overall with a compounded annual growth rate of 1.2 percent. The top-ranked industry would be health care, at 1.9 percent, also compounded annually.

"It is worth noting that the BLS projections for construction do not lift employment above the total measured for 2004," the National Association of Home Builders said. "Over the 2004-2014 period, 837,800 construction jobs were lost on a net basis, a larger number than the expected 2014-2024 gain."

The BLS said: "Even with these additional jobs, employment in the construction major sector is not projected to return to the 2006 peak."

Data from the BLS also includes a breakdown of job growth by specific trade. The solar photovoltaic installation field is expected to grow by 24.3 percent through 2024, and the iron and rebar worker segment is anticipated to expand by 23.4 percent.

The insulation field will increase by 19.4 percent, and the brick and block masonry segment will grow by 17.9 percent, according to BLS data. The number of electricians will expand by 13.7 percent, and earth drillers should go up by 13.6 percent.

"The health care and social assistance major sector is expected to become the largest employing major sector during the projection's decade, overtaking the state and local government major sector and the professional and business services major sector," the BLS said. "Health care and social assistance is projected to increase its employment share from 12.0 percent in 2014 to 13.6 percent in 2024."

December Starts Down Almost 7 Percent
Total construction starts, not counting residential activity, declined 6.9 percent in December to $22.2 billion, Construction Market Data Group said.

Starts for the month are also down 7 percent on a year-over-year basis.

But construction work climbed 1.9 percent from January-to-December 2015, compared to the same 12-month period in 2014.

All three major categories of construction starts dropped in December month-over-month. Commercial shed 4 percent, heavy engineering was down 6.2 percent, and institutional plummeted 22.5 percent.

However, industrial, a subgroup of institutional, jumped nearly 513 percent, mainly because Volkswagen began building a manufacturing plant in Tennessee.

The construction industry grew by more than 45,000 jobs in December, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This was the second best month in terms of job creation in 2015. Only November was better, when the industry expanded by 48,000 jobs.

"Year-over-year employment in construction ended 2015 up 4.2 percent, leading all major employment subcategories," CMD said.